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      KNOWLEDGE BASE (ZENDESK) - STYLE GUIDE

      If you are a contributor to the clients’ knowledge base (Zendesk), familiarize yourself with the following guidelines for publishing/editing articles.

      Links in articles

      Use label tags

      If there is a link to another article, ALWAYS add information in the Label field.

      For example:

      • The first entry in the Label field MUST be the word linked, followed by a comma
      • For the linked article, insert linked_<article #>
      • There may be several entries, add the new Label at the end

      Link naming

      When an article has links, check each link to ensure there is no extension after the article number. For example:

      • No: https://.../360042479974-NetSuite-Release-Notes-current
      • Yes: https://.../360042479974

      Create a link

      • Copy the URL for the link
      • Highlight the link text and click the Link icon
      • Paste the URL and set Target to New window

      Article Voice

      Paystand is a complex platform and our Merchants may not always be the most tech-forward users. Our knowledgeable portal voice is friendly, and helpful. AVOID “techy” words and phrases. Do NOT over-explain. Articles provide information to instruct and educate the Issuer/Investor. Keep things short, sweet, and casual.

      Possessive pronouns

      Use possessive pronouns as part of the conversational voice. For example:

      • Do not use: “To update customer details”. 
      • Use the more conversational possessive:  “To update your customer’s details” 

      Use active voice (avoid passive voice)

      Use action verbs. For example: 

      • No (passive): You’ll get an email when you register for NetSuite.
      • Yes (active): When you register for NetSuite, we’ll email you. 
      • No (passive): Questions from the public record will be asked, so your identity can be verified.
      • Yes (active): To verify your identify, we’ll ask questions from the public record.
      • No (passive): You won’t be getting a confirmation email until the action is completed.
      • Yes (active): When the action is completed, you’ll receive a confirmation email.

      Eliminate “you”

      • No: We’ll email you within 1-2 business days
      • Yes: We’ll respond within 1-2 business days

      Less is more

      Don’t use five words when you could use three (or two). However, don’t use so few words that the friendly, conversational tone is lost.

      For example:

      • No: “You should now sync again”
      • Yes: “Sync again”

      Use articles (a, an, the)

      To avoid terse sentences and maintain the conversation and friendly “voice”, ALWAYS include articles in the sentences.

      • No: “Click invoice number” 
      • Yes: “Click the invoice number”

      Article titles

      Article titles should be in sentence case, unless the article title is the name of a specific object

      • Don’t use periods, or other sentence-ending punctuation
      • Capitalize ONLY the first word and any proper nouns
      • No questions as titles

      For example:

      • No: “How do I set up ePayments for existing vendors?”)
      • Yes: Set up ePayments for existing vendors

      Procedure article titles

      ALWAYS begin with an action verb, not passive. NEVER use gerunds (verbs that end with “ing”).

      • No: Updating payer details
      • Yes: Update the payer details

      Action verbs recommendations

      • Create <object>
      • Add <user>
      • Update <xx> (avoid “Modify”)
      • Change <xx>
      • Delete (transactions) (i.e., Delete a transaction)
      • Deactivate (users) (i.e., Deactivate a user)

      Information article titles

      Title only provides the subject information.

      For example:

      • No: Use the Implementation Setup Guide
      • Yes: Implementation Setup Guide
      • No: Read these Control Panel FAQs
      • Yes: Control Panel FAQs 

      Article body

      If article has sub-title “Overview” or any other "Intro" related initial header, remove it.

       

      Procedure (steps) guidelines

      • NEVER use ending punctuation in numbered instruction steps
      • ALWAYS use ending punctuation in descriptive sentences
      • If a link is clicked, NEVER describe the <insert word> page. Immediately explain what is to be done and continue the procedure steps
      • NEVER use path shortcuts (Settings > Onboarding > Investor Profile)
      • If there is a descriptive sentence (requiring punctuation) in a step, enter a Hard Return and then add the sentence (with ending punctuation)

      For Example

      1. Hover over the gear icon and click Settings
      2. Under Receivables, click Email Templates
      3. Click Edit
      4. Make changes to the Invoice email template 
        • To add customized content, use the Content tool on the right.
      5. Click Save

      Bolding words in procedures

      Do not describe the link/object in the procedure. For example: 

      • No: Click the Continue button
      • Yes: Click Continue
      • No: Click the Payers section
      • Yes: Click Payers
      • No: In the Notifications section
      • Yes: In the Notifications

      Callout important information

      When important information must be flagged to emphasize the details, use the callout functions of the Lotus theme.

      <warning> Make sure that xxx is done before yyy.

       

      This is an example.

      Procedure Graphics

      Icons

      ALWAYS include icon images for Investor and Issuer screens

      See “Common Images” section for a list of all the common icon images.

      Screenshots

      Use screenshot images (screen captures) as much as possible. The image should include as much of the user area as possible. 

      If you need to draw attention to an area on the graphic, position a box with a thin red line onto the area. This helps emphasize a graphic area you mentioned in the step instruction. <WE CAN REVIEW THIS>

      Numbers

      Use numerals for all numbers, unless a number is the first word of a sentence. 

      • No: 7 out of 10 Investors sign the Subscription agreement.
      • Yes: Seven out of 10 Investors sign the Subscription agreement.

      Bullets

      Use bullets for lists. Do not use ending punctuation for lists – except when the list has a descriptive sentence as part of the bullet item.

      List example:

      • Transaction Amount
      • Payment Detail
      • An Example

      List with descriptive sentence example (end with a period):

      • Transaction Amounts – these have an ending.
      • Payment Details – these something.

      Common words/phrases

      • Always use two separate words
        • Log in / Log out or Sign in / Sign out
      • Separate two words
        • Set up
          • As a verb – always two words (example: “Set up your Payers Profile”)
          • As a noun – one word (example: “The Best Practices Setup Guide”)
      • Do not us “synchronization” or “synchronize”
        • Sync / synced
      • Contractions
        • To maintain conversational voice, ALWAYS use contractions. For example: 
          • can’t for ”cannot” or ”can not”
          • don’t for ”do not”
          • won’t for ”will not”
          • we’ll for “we will”
          • you’ll for ”you will”
      • Cancel – for past tense:
        • No: cancelled
        • Yes: canceled
      • When referring to Customer Support, use the bolded word Support.

      Formatting / Templates

      • Simple FAQ
      • Release Notes
      • How To Article
      • Setup Guide
      • Best Practices
      • Error Template
        • Main Headers in Order: Error / Explanation / Solution
        • Headers are not Issue / Description / Resolution
        • Error must be encapsulated in the Gray code box

      Brand Guidelines

      Visit Paystand’s brand book for more information:

       

      Brand Book

      Shared

      • Things to know section. Use to identify important info, especially need-to-know information.
      •  Settings icon
      •  Edit icon
      •  Delete icon